Tui share price rises as it promises 10pc profit growth
The figures
Fresh from its recent merger with its German owner, holiday giant Tui said this morning revenues grew 7.3 per cent to €6.9bn (£5bn) in the six months to the end of March, up from €6.4bn during the same period last year.
Its loss on earnings before interest, taxation and amortisation fell 20 per cent, from a loss of €341m last year to a loss of €273m. That beat expectations of a €314m loss.
Now it's got the merger out of the way, Tui reckons it can deliver growth in its underlying operating profit of between 10 per cent and 15 per cent. Good news for shareholders, who pushed shares up two per cent to 1,278p as the market opened.
Why it's interesting
Tui's first post-merger update has been a success: the company appears to be coming out of its consolidation leaner, meaner, and with a new business model.
As part of the merger, Tui outlined plans to bring all its brands – which include cruise lines, hotels and five airlines (Thomson Airways, Tuifly, Tuifly Nordic, Jetairfly and Akefly) – under the "Tui" umbrella. Alas, that means the sad demise of Thomson, the travel brand beloved of British holiday-makers.
Yesterday deputy chief executive Johan Lundgren announced plans to step down following the merger. We'll find out more during a Capital Markets Day today – joint chief execs Fritz Joussen and Peter Long are expected to outline plans for as much as €1bn worth of disposals, including its 14 per cent stake in the Hapag Lloyd container shipping company, plus online travel agent LateRooms, and even some of its hotel properties.
What Tui said
Joussen and Long said:
Our strategy as the world's leading tourism business, building on a global brand with an attractive hotel portfolio, a growing fleet of cruise ships, and a modern and efficient leisure airline with direct access to over 20 million customers, is taking shape and is delivering results.We have implemented our new operational structure and are setting out our roadmap for growth. We are strongly committed to delivering improved customer experiences and increased shareholder value. Our new roadmap enables us to provide updated guidance for the future prospects of the group.
In short
Things seem to be going well, post-merger – although shareholders will embrace plans for further asset disposals.